Studies on the Gametogenesis in Polyploid Ginbuna Carassius auratus langsdorfii

The structural changes of the chromosomes during meiosis of gynogenetic triploid female ginbuna Carassius auratus langsdorfii, and naturally produced or sex-reversed male ginbuna were studied cytologically. In triploid female ginbuna, at zygotene stage two homologue-like chromosomes out of three were sometimes adjacent each other in the neighbourhood. At pachytene stage almost all of the chromosomes were univalents, and at diplotene stage almost all of lampbrush chromosomes were also univalents. From these results it seems probable that the two homologue-like chromosomes undergo synapsis at zygotene stage, but they might be separated to univalents on and after pachytene stage. Thereafter, each univalent chromosome might be split to two chromatids and result in separation of one chromatids to one direction and the other to the opposite one. In this way, the egg may maintain the maternal chromosome number and karyotype throughout the oogenesis. On the other hand, in some specimens at diplotene stage at most two to three bivalent lampbrush chromosomes, connected with one chiasma, were observed. These facts seem to explain the hypervariabilities among the gynogenetic triploid ginbuna. On the other hand, male individuals were almost similar to the processes in meiosis, though in some chromosomes it observed a few bivalents and rod-shaped bi-, tri-, and multivalent chromosomes at metaphase.Article信州大学理学部紀要 19(1): 37-52(1984)departmental bulletin pape

Effect of Garlic Juice on Quality Changes of Oyster (Crassostrea Belcheri) Meat During Chilled Storage

Surat-thani oyster, a big and thin-shell bivalve mollusks, has been registered as Geographical Indicators, GI, as its good taste and delicacy as well as nutritious. Eaten style is raw then there is high risk to face with some disease as oyster is filter feeder. Physical, chemical, microbiological and sensory qualities after the oyster meat treated with the garlic juice at 0, 2 and 3 ml, respectively were monitored. Though initial pH of the control, untreated with garlic juice, was higher compared with the sample treated with 3 ml garlic juice, pH of it (control) was significantly lower (p5) at the end of the storag

EGUIDE project and treatment guidelines

Aim: Although treatment guidelines for pharmacological therapy for schizophrenia and major depressive disorder have been issued by the Japanese Societies of Neuropsychopharmacology and Mood Disorders, these guidelines have not been well applied by psychiatrists throughout the nation. To address this issue, we developed the ‘Effectiveness of Guidelines for Dissemination and Education in Psychiatric Treatment (EGUIDE)’ integrated education programs for psychiatrists to disseminate the clinical guidelines. Additionally, we conducted a systematic efficacy evaluation of the programs. Methods: Four hundred thirteen out of 461 psychiatrists attended two 1‐day educational programs based on the treatment guidelines for schizophrenia and major depressive disorder from October 2016 to March 2018. We measured the participants’ clinical knowledge of the treatment guidelines using self‐completed questionnaires administered before and after the program to assess the effectiveness of the programs for improving knowledge. We also examined the relation between the participants’ demographics and their clinical knowledge scores. Results: The clinical knowledge scores for both guidelines were significantly improved after the program. There was no correlation between clinical knowledge and participant demographics for the program on schizophrenia; however, a weak positive correlation was found between clinical knowledge and the years of professional experience for the program on major depressive disorder. Conclusion: Our results provide evidence that educational programs on the clinical practices recommended in guidelines for schizophrenia and major depressive disorder might effectively improve participants’ clinical knowledge of the guidelines. These data are encouraging to facilitate the standardization of clinical practices for psychiatric disorders

Expression of Calmodulin and Myosin Light Chain Kinase during Larval Settlement of the Barnacle Balanus amphitrite

Barnacles are one of the most common organisms in intertidal areas. Their life cycle includes seven free-swimming larval stages and sessile juvenile and adult stages. The transition from the swimming to the sessile stages, referred to as larval settlement, is crucial for their survivor success and subsequent population distribution. In this study, we focused on the involvement of calmodulin (CaM) and its binding proteins in the larval settlement of the barnacle, Balanus ( = Amphibalanus) amphitrite. The full length of CaM gene was cloned from stage II nauplii of B. amphitrite (referred to as Ba-CaM), encoding 149 amino acid residues that share a high similarity with published CaMs in other organisms. Quantitative real-time PCR showed that Ba-CaM was highly expressed in cyprids, the stage at which swimming larvae are competent to attach and undergo metamorphosis. In situ hybridization revealed that the expressed Ba-CaM gene was localized in compound eyes, posterior ganglion and cement glands, all of which may have essential functions during larval settlement. Larval settlement assays showed that both the CaM inhibitor compound 48/80 and the CaM-dependent myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) inhibitor ML-7 effectively blocked barnacle larval settlement, whereas Ca2+/CaM-dependent kinase II (CaMKII) inhibitors did not show any clear effects. The subsequent real-time PCR assay showed a higher expression level of Ba-MLCK gene in larval stages than in adults, suggesting an important role of Ba-MLCK gene in larval development and competency. Overall, the results suggest that CaM and CaM-dependent MLCK function during larval settlement of B. amphitrite

A tumor-environment-responsive nanocarrier that evolves its surface properties upon sensing matrix metalloproteinase-2 and initiates agglomeration to enhance T2 relaxivity for magnetic resonance imaging.

We designed and synthesized a modified ferritin as a tumor-environment-responsive nanocarrier. We found that this nanocarrier could evolve its surface properties upon sensing a tumor-associated protease, matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), which initiated agglomeration, resulting in the enhancement of T2 relaxivity for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The designed ferritin contained a triad of modifiers composed of (i) a "sensing" segment (substrate peptide of MMP-2), (ii) "hydrophobic" segments and (iii) a "hydrophilic" segment of polyethylene glycol (PEG). The hydrophilic segment ensured the particles\u27 monodispersibility in aqueous conditions. In the presence of MMP-2 activity, the "sensing" segment was cleaved by the enzyme and its submerged "hydrophobic" segments were exposed on the surface, resulting in the initiation of aggregation. Because ferritin contains ferrihydrite in its inner space, this multimerization resulted in the enhancement of T2 relaxivity, suggesting that this nanocarrier may be useful as a contrast agent in MRI

Competence and discrimination during cyprid settlement in Amphibalanus amphitrite

Amphibalanus (=Balanus) amphitrite is a tropical/sub-tropical barnacle species which is naturally exposed to sea temperatures of 16-27 degrees C throughout its larval development. An established technique widely employed by investigators of A. amphitrite settlement involves the storage of cyprids at 4-6 degrees C prior to their use in bioassays. Our study focuses on the effects on ageing temperature on settlement and discrimination of A. amphitrite larvae. Using cyprids aged at 2 temperatures, 6 and 23 degrees C, we confirmed the general trend in the literature that young d0 cyprids of this species do not appear competent to settle. Performing cyprid settlement assays at 20, 25 or 28 degrees C, we observed that the proportion of settled cyprids when incubated at 28 degrees C was greater than that of cyprid incubated at 25 degrees C and 20 degrees C. Settlement rates of cyprids aged at 6 degrees C and 23 C increased relative to age from d1 to d10 irrespective of temperature. Cyprids lost the ability to undergo attachment and metamorphosis at d14 or d15 when aged at 6 degrees C or 23 degrees C respectively. In the choice assays executed in this study, cyprids generally chose to settle on adult extract-treated areas. But localised settlement on adult extract-treated areas decreased with time. Choice settlement assays at set age intervals during the cypris larval stage showed that cyprids were able to discriminate between con- and allospecific adult extracts. The duration and the temperature of cyprids storage influenced selectivity. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Possible molecular mechanisms of species recognition by barnacle larvae inferred from multi-specific sequencing analysis of proteinaceous settlement-inducing pheromone

Gregarious settlement is essential for reproduction and survival of many barnacles. A glycoprotein, settlement-inducing protein complex (SIPC) has been recognized as a signal for settlement and it is expressed in both conspecific adults and larvae. Although the settlement-inducing activities of SIPC are species-specific, the molecular-based mechanism by which larvae distinguish conspecific SIPC from the SIPC of other species is still unknown. Here, the complete primary structure of the SIPC of Megabalanus coccopoma, as well as the partial structure of the SIPCs of Balanus improvisus, Megabalanus rosa, and Elminius modestus are reported. These SIPCs contain highly variable regions that possibly modulate the affinity for the receptor, resulting in the species specificity of SIPC. In addition, the distribution patterns of potential N-glycosylation sites were seen to be different among the various species. Differences in such post-translational modifications may contribute to the species specificity of SIPC

Larval development and settlement of a whale barnacle

Larval development and settlement of whale barnacles have not previously been described, unlike intertidal barnacles. Indeed, the mechanisms of the association between barnacles and whales have not been studied. Here we describe the larval development and settlement of the whale barnacle, Coronula diadema, and possible involvement of a cue from the host in inducing larval settlement. Eight-cell stage embryos were collected from C. diadema on a stranded humpback whale, incubated in filtered seawater for 7 days, and nauplius larvae hatched out. When fed with Chaetoceros gracilis, the nauplii developed to stage VI, and finally metamorphosed to the cypris stage. The larval development looked similar to that of intertidal barnacles with planktotrophic larval stages. The cyprids did not settle in normal seawater, but did settle in polystyrene Petri dishes when incubated in seawater with a small piece of skin tissue from the host whale. This strongly suggests the involvement of a chemical cue from the host whale tissue to induce larval settlement